The Ultimate Commitment
by harrietspecter
Summary: A short love story {possible oneshot} being Leonard and Penny; and the bumps along the road. Leonard's promise to be the forever committed to Penny, when she ultimately has no one else. Cute, sappy and a tear-jerker. Enjoy, and review! x
1. Chapter 1

**The Ultimate Commitment**

 _"If I could give you one thing in life Penny, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my_ _eyes, for only then you would be able to see how much you mean to me"_

Thoughts like that pounded through Leonard's head, as he walked up the stairs to find Penny pushed against her apartment door by another stranger. It was basically the same situation every night that Leonard had late shifts, and when Penny obviously wasn't working her night shifts at the Cheesecake factory. Normally to two pre-mating humans wouldn't even stop to acknowledge his existence as he entered the opposing apartment, but tonight was different. Leonard heard the estranged man groan as Penny pushed his body weight off hers.

"Oh, hi Leonard!" Penny said almost surprised, making him wonder if she had noticed him at all any other night.

Leonard turned, giving Penny as well as the blonde muscular man who was impatiently leaning against the door.

"Leonard, this is Clifford." Penny said, tapping his on the stomach, as he walked towards Leonard to shake his hand. From a distance, door to door, Clifford looked a lot shorter than he was, but when he stood in front of Leonard, easily a foot taller than him.

"Hey buddy," his deep voice boomed through the hallway, as he shook Leonard's hand almost crushing all of the bones in his hand. A distressed look escaped from his face, as he tried to seem confident compared to the six foot man standing in front of him.

"Hello" Leonard winced, as he let go of his hand. "Goodnight Penny."

Leonard entered his apartment, not looking back at Penny and her handsome date.

* * *

The next day was the same as Leonard returned home from work. He had been working the late shifts lately, as it was the only time that Caltech's Electromagnetic field laser was available for use. For the first time, that Leonard had witnessed, it was the same guy that Penny was standing with, this time not ravaging each other, but still emerged in each others company.

Penny's face lit up as Leonard reached the fourth floor and came into view.

She gave a huge wave to Leonard, who sent a smile back in her direction and just entered his apartment. He just went straight for a shower, and the straight to bed, 'this had been the day from hell' Leonard said, pulling on his pyjama pants and slowly crawled into his bed.

Three knocks pounded on his bedroom door, followed by repetition calls of his name.

"Go away Sheldon" Leonard retaliated at his annoying roommate. The knocks continued. "What do you want?"

Sheldon entered Leonard's room, as a annoyed groaned escaped Leonard's lips.

"How was your time on the Field Laser? Did you make any scientific breakthroughs?" Sheldon asked, struggling not to laugh at the fact that his roommate, Leonard Hofstadter could possibly make a scientific breakthrough.

"No, my theory was wrong. Can we just leave it at that?"

"Okay, okay." Sheldon said leaving his room.

It wasn't long before Leonard drifted off the sleep.

* * *

 _"Leonard, hunny. Wake up, we have to go and pick Levi up from preschool." Penny said, putting a delicate kiss on her husbands lips._

 _Leonard's eyes shuffled open, to reveal his gorgeous wife snuggled into his back._

 _"What are you doing home from work?" Leonard asked, rolling over so they were face to face._

 _"Well when you texted me and said you weren't well, I took the rest of the day of work to make sure you were alright"._

 _"I love you so much Penny!"_

* * *

Leonard's eyes shot awake, with the rapid beating on his door, similar to last night.

"Leonard, Leonard, Leonard."

"What Sheldon?"

"You need to drive me to work."

"Can't you just catch the bus? I'm not going in today."

"No, I can't. I'll be late if I have to wait for the bus."

Leonard groaned as he rolled out of his warm bed, and pulled on a jacket and cargo pants. He grabbed his car keys out of the bowl beside the door, and jogged down the stairs after a distressed Sheldon.

The drive to the university was slow, filled with traffic, ignorant drivers and one _pain-in-the-ass_ Sheldon. Leonard dropped him off out the front of Caltech, then did a u-turn and headed straight back to their apartments.

As Leonard walked up the stairs, he heard sobbing come from an apartment near his. He went to enter his apartment, but there was just want sob that was louder than the others than scared him. He needed to make sure that it wasn't from Penny's apartment.

He walked across the hallway, and knocked on the door.

"Just leave me alone, Clifford! I'll call the police!" Penny distressed voice boomed from behind the door.

"It's Leonard. Are you okay?"

"Go away Leonard, please."

The heartbreak in her voice, almost brought Leonard to tears. He cared about her so much, there was no way he was just going to walk away.

"Penny, please." Leonard pleaded, as her sobs continued.

The was no reply, as Leonard put his hand on the cold metal door handle, turning it and applying a small amount of pressure to the door, as it opened. He was slightly worried about what would greet him behind the door, and how he would handle the situation that he would soon face.

* * *

He saw Penny leaning up against her aqua blue couch, distressed and distraught.

"Leonard, please just go."

"Penny, I am not leaving you when you are like this. What happened?"

Leonard walked further into her apartment, and sat down next to Penny on the ground.

"Nothing, I can't tell you."

"Yes, you can. You can tell me anything. I won't judge you. Did Clifford hurt you?"

Penny laid her head into Penny shoulder, as he brought his arm around her side to comfort her.

"Tell me what he did. Don't protect him."

"Yes" Penny cried, as she tried to wipe away the tears, but those being mixed with mascara just ended up with black smudged lines down her face. "I said no, he didn't listen. I screamed out, but he just hit me, and told me to shut up."

"Oh Penny." Leonard pulled her closer into his chest, and brought her head onto his shoulder to comfort her. Leonard really didn't know what he was doing, he felt so awkward, but had to overcome that, because Penny needed him. He had to be there for her, otherwise he had no chance in hell with ever being with her.

 _"If you were with me, i'll treat you like a god damn princess. You'd be my world, and i'd never let anyone lay a hand on you."_ It was the same thoughts that constantly filled his head when he was around her. He hated the way he felt about Penny, because he knew, one hundred percent knew, that she was too good for him, and that he'd never stand a chance.

"Penny, I am so sorry"

"It's okay, he said he was sorry."

"Doesn't mean he is." Leonard bit back, everything he thought about Clifford when he saw him, he was completely wrong, and this had changed his entire view about him.

"I don't mean to ask too much, but did he. I mean did you two still 'do it' after you said no?" Leonard asked, awkwardly.

Penny nodded.

"So, he... ugh. Penny, did he _rape_ you?"

Penny burst into tears.

"He can get in a lot of trouble for this, we can call the cops. Penny, he can and will go to jail."

"No, Leonard don't. I care about him, and I don't want him to get in trouble."

"So, after all this. Him hitting you, and doing that without your permission, you still care about him. After all of it."

"I do."

"Okay, I'm going to go." Leonard said standing up.

"Why?" Penny asked, confused. She was in no better condition than what she was when Leonard first saw it. He was so caring for her, and now his face was blank, and didn't even look like he cared about her.

"Well, he hit you, he hurt you, and you still trust and like him. And I can't help you, if you still feel that way about him." Leonard defended.

"What, so just because he lost his temper a little bit, you think he is a bad person? He loves me."

"Penny, no he doesn't. If he loved you, he wouldn't lay a hand on you. He wouldn't even have thoughts of hurting you. If he loved you, the idea of you being in pain would make him hurt as much as it would hurt you. He would drop everything to make sure you were the most important thing in his life, and that when you were happy, nothing else mattered. If he loved you, he treat you the way you deserved to be treated. He'd listen to how you felt, and if you ever said no, about anything. He'd take that in his heart, and listen to you, because he'd know that the reason you said no, was because there was something wrong. And then he'd do everything he possible could to make sure that the thing was wrong, turned right as fast as it could, just so that you could be as happy as you can be. And most importantly, he wouldn't leave you the way he did, when you were down."

"Wow, okay Leonard. Thanks." Penny said, the tears in her eyes which slowly turned from pain to love, when she heard the way Leonard talked around her.

"Yeah, i have to go. Goodbye Penny."

Leonard walked out of her apartment, after he put everything on the table. He only made one mistake, although it was one mistake that he knew would haunt him especially if he ever saw Penny with Clifford again. He didn't tell her, that everything he said, about loving someone, about that ultimate commitment. Everything that he said, was things that he would do for her, if he was just given the chance.

* * *

After listening to everything Leonard had said to her, it really made her realise that even though Clifford said that he loved her, Penny knew he didn't. He hadn't come over since what happened the other day, and Penny was hoping that he wouldn't come back. She had thought about the situation, and how he treated her, and although she believed he would change, she was also doubtful that he would.

As it got later on into the day, she called the Cheesecake Factory and told her that she couldn't work her late shift, even though she desperately need the money. It was about 6pm, and Penny lay curled up on her couch, with a tub of ice-cream in her arms, and Sex in the City on her television.

They was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Penny yelled, with a mouth full of ice-cream.

Whoever is was, hey didn't reply, and just entered. It was Clifford who appeared from behind her door.

"You shouldn't be here. I have nothing to say to you." Penny defended, after she had thought about what Leonard had said to her.

"I want to apologise. I didn't mean what I did, and I can change, it will never happen again. Do you forgive me?" Clifford walked towards Penny, sitting next to her on the couch.

"No, I can't forgive you Cliff. You, you..." Penny burst out into tears again, and whispered. "Clifford, you _raped_ me."

"I did not." He stood up, defending himself immediatley.

Penny nodded.

"Just go. I really don't want you here."

"You won't, like you know. You want call the cops will you. And Penny, it's not like you didn't enjoy it, it's only rape if you don't want it." He laughed, trying to make a joke out of the situation, that really changed the way Penny thought about him.

"Maybe I will. You shouldn't have done it in the first place. And I said no, thats all that you should of needed to stop. You betrayed me. Leonard came over this afternoon, and helped me realise that." As soon as that came out of Penny's mouth, she regretted bringing Leonard into this fight. He was only trying to help her, and after saying this different side of Clifford last night, she was worried about how he would react.

"Leonard ahy, that little dorky prick from across the hall?"

"Don't you speak about him like that!" Penny yelled in Clifford's face.

"Or what? You'll leave me for him? What a downgrade that would be, he's probably still a virgin. Never even kissed a girl." Clifford laughed, and it really offended Penny the way he talked about him.

"Why would it matter to you, if i do. You don't care about me. Otherwise you wouldn't have done what you did last night." Penny started to yell in his face, as Clifford turned around to get out his anger, he punched a hole in Penny's wall.

"Well at least you hit the wall this time instead of me."

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" He yelled, as he stood up against the wall.

"You should go, otherwise I will call the cops."

Clifford didn't even reply, his face was red, and his was bleeding, but he left. He just slammed the door behind him, and Penny just hoped that Leonard didn't come out of his apartment, or that Clifford didn't confront Leonard.

 **A/N This is a oneshot at the moment, depending on reviews. I'd like to continue it at some stage, but let me know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed. It's very different from my other fanfics, and a little bit 'angsty'. So yeah! R &R please xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Ultimate Commitment – Chapter 2**

When Leonard returned home from work, he found Sheldon sitting on the couch, attached to his laptop.

"Hey Buddy, why didn't you go into work today?" Leonard asked Sheldon, as he put his keys into the bowl beside the door.

"I wanted to, but Professor Siebert has forced me to take my vacation days. He locked my office. I tried to get Penny to sneak me in, but she didn't answer her door. I haven't seen her in days. Not that I'm complaining." Sheldon whinged, as Leonard eventually zoned out, until Penny's name was mentioned.

"I might go and check on her then. I haven't seen her in a while either." Leonard realized, as he walked out the door and across the hallway.

He knocked on the door, and call out to Penny, but as Sheldon said; there was no reply. What if she was unwell and needed help, what if something happened? Leonard remembered when she got angry at them for entering her apartment when she wasn't there, but Leonard had a feeling that something wasn't right. He shuffled at the door, and it unlocked, 'she obviously wasn't at work then', Leonard thought to himself.

He walked in through the door to find Penny's apartment in a huge mess, there was empty glasses on the table, and take away food all messed around on the ground. He noticed the lights turned on in her bedroom, and a silhouette moving around behind her opaque door.

"Penny?" Leonard called out.

The shuffling stopped, as Leonard slowly opened her bedroom door.

"Oh my god, Penny, are you okay?" As Leonard walked through the door, he saw Penny sitting in the corner of her bedroom, with a bottle of wine in her hand, her hair in a mess and mascara smudged down her face.

"I'm fine. Please leave me alone Leonard."

"Okay." Leonard replied, as he turned around to walk back to their apartment.

"Leonard, wait!" He heard Penny call from her apartment. Leonard turned back around, and found Penny with her head in her hands, sobbing loudly, as if Penny seeing Leonard was some kind of trigger. He went and sat next to Penny, with both of them leaning up against Penny's bathroom door.

* * *

"What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing" Leonard replied. _'You're perfect to me…'_ "You're..."

"Penny!" A loud noise boomed from behind Penny's door. "Open the door!"

"Clifford, leave me alone! I'll call the police." Penny defended, standing up immediately. Leonard could see the fright in her eyes. She was terrified of him. And at this point in time, so was Leonard.

Clifford just opened the door anyways, and rushed in through the door. Leonard's heart dropped when his eyes connected with Clifford. Leonard was no match with this man, in any other aspect than intellectually.

"So you're just given it out to everyone now Penny? Even the little virgin dorks ahy?"

"Clifford, please just leave. I don't want any trouble." Penny pleaded, she was as distraught and as scared as Leonard was. Leonard remained seated where he was, as Penny tried to reason with Clifford to get him to leave.

Penny kept yelling at him, trying to get him to leave, but all it did was infuriate him more. Leonard could tell that he had been drinking, and was, in fact, highly intoxicated.

"Just shut up Penny!" He yelled in her face.

Leonard was about to do something that he was one hundred percent sure he would regret at some stage.

"Clifford, you need to go." Leonard said, standing up and walking out to defend Penny. "Penny did nothing to you, and she doesn't deserve to be treated the way you treat her. I will call the police if you don't leave."

For a split second Leonard felt empowered, but that soon faded as Clifford walked towards Leonard; still towering a foot over him.

"Oh okay shorty, what are you going to do if I don't leave?" Clifford said, obviously using his advanced height and width to intimidate Leonard.

"I already said that I'd call the cops, Clifford." Leonard looked back at Penny, with a large smile on his face. "Are the misfiring neurons in your hippocampus preventing the conversion from short-term to long-term memory?"

"Okay, stop that." Clifford said, trying to process the words that came out of Leonard's mouth.

"A homo-habilus discovering his opposable thumbs says what?" Leonard said, feeling slightly more confident.

"What?" Clifford said, as he cuffed his hands into a fist.

"I think I've made my point." Leonard exclaimed, taking a step back from Clifford and looking back at Penny.

Clifford's face turned red after he finally pieced together what Leonard had said, as Leonard turned back to face Clifford, with a grin on his face, it didn't last long as his face was struck by Clifford's fist which immediately dropped Leonard to the ground. Penny gasped as she watched Leonard drop to the ground, unsure of what to do. Clifford turned around and walked out her door, slamming it behind him.

"Oh my god, Leonard are you okay?" Penny said, falling to the ground next to Leonard.

"I'm fine." Leonard rebounded, holding his nose, as a black eye quickly started to form, and blood rushed from in between his fingers.

"Thank you Leonard." Penny said, helping him stand up. "I can't believe you stood up to him like that for me."

 _I'd do anything for you Penny. Anything._

"It's alright."

"I'll get some tissues and stuff. Just sit on my couch."

Penny rushed around grabbing 'stuff' for Leonard. She felt so bad about what Clifford had done to him, when he was just trying to stick up for Penny. She felt like it was all her fault, and didn't really know how to act around Leonard. She was still a little bit intoxicated, and felt like crap. Obviously not as bad as Leonard, but still pretty bad.

What he did for her, really surprised Penny. In a good way. She didn't think that Leonard would have to guts to stand up to someone like Clifford for anyone, let alone Penny.

Leonard sat in silence on Penny's couch, as Penny gave him some tissues, and a ice-pack she found in the back of her freezer.

"I better go home." Leonard managed to mumble as he wiped the blood away from his nose.

"Oh, okay then. Thank you, for everything Leonard."

Before Leonard could stand up, Penny placed a small kiss on Leonard's cheek, immediately making everything Leonard did for her worth it. He cared so much for her, and she would never know.

He went back to his apartment, and just went straight to his room, and into bed.

It wasn't long before he fell asleep, even though he was in so much pain.

* * *

 _'I love you Leonard. You are my everything, and I couldn't think of anyone better to spend the rest of my life with.' As those words came out of Penny's mouth, it made everything worth it. All the chasing, all the time he waited to be the one for her. The one that would be her final. Someone that she truly loved, and someone who truly loved her._

 **A/N – A few references to 1x06, because I thought they fit. I had some great reviews so I decided to write a 2nd chapter for this story. I am sorry for spelling mistakes, I don't have a beta reader, and I am normally too lazy to read over my work. But, anyways. Please read and review! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Penny broke through her door, and hurried across the hallway to the guys apartment.

"Leonard!" Penny yelled, as she repeatedly knocked on the door. It wasn't long before she answered, wrapped in a robe, as it was only 8:30 on a Saturday morning.

"What's up?" Leonard said, rubbing his eyes.

"A girl from Nebraska just rocked up at my door, and I can't stand her. I need to hid out here for a little while."

"Okay, so if you don't like her, why is she in your apartment?" Leonard exclaimed, still completely confused with the whole situation.

"Well she was engaged to my cousin why she was sleeping with my brother, so she's considered family. It's a long story, so can I just hang out here for a bit… I saw Sheldon leave, and decided to come over, because if Sheldon was here, I think I would prefer to be with Chrissy."

"And Chrissy's the…?"

"Whore of Omaha." Penny interrupted Leonard, clearing up his question.

"Okay, come in." Leonard said, closing the door after Penny walked through to the brown couch. "Would you like a coffee or something."

"That'd be lovely." Penny said, as Leonard returned to the kitchen, flicking the kettle on, and grabbing the milk out of the fridge.

After the kettle boiled, Leonard made two coffees for himself and Penny, he brought them over and sat Penny's on the couch, and sat on the opposite side of their lounge area. The two sat in silence whilst they both sipped on their coffees. Leonard flicked on the tv, and channel surfed for a while, every now and again gazing over at Penny to see if she was enjoying a certain channel. When a small gasp escaped from Penny's mouth, Leonard gleaned that it was the channel she wanted to watch. Leonard was unsure what the program was, but when it went to an ad-break, the words "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" flashed on the screen, explaining the hell that Leonard had to endure. The two continued to sit in silence, for another 30 minutes, until Penny jolted up at the end of the episode, realising that she had left a girl, a girl that she didn't trust alone in her apartment.

"Thanks for letting me hide out here Leonard, I should probably go back and make sure she isn't stealing money out of my wallet." Penny said, with a worried tone. "Not that there's much in there." She joked, walking out the door.

Penny walked out into the hallway, and walked into her apartment. She immediately jumped back, to find one of the worlds most disgusting creatures, by the name of Howard Wolowitz pinned down on the couch by Chrissy.

"What the hell is going on here?!" She screamed, almost vomiting in her mouth.

"Penny please, a bit of privacy."

"You're in my apartment!" Penny pleaded, as she gave up and pulled the door shut. She stood outside her apartment, and could hear the laughs of both Chrissy and Howard, which immediately caused a sharp shiver to bolt down her spine. Mainly of disgust, but also just plain annoyance of the fact that Chrissy let Howard into her apartment.

She walked back across the hall, and knocked on Leonard's apartment. There was no way she was going to listen to the horrible noises that would be coming from her apartment and didn't mind the company of Leonard. After all, he had been the only stable thing in her life at the moment. All her friends had been Clifford's friends, and she had been trying as hard as she good to avoid them lately, in order to also avoid Clifford. It had been a few weeks since she last saw him, and she wanted to distance that gap as much as she could.

She knocked on the door, and it wasn't long and Leonard's face appeared from behind that door with a big grin on his face.

"Couldn't stand her?" He asked, with the grin only growing wider as he saw her annoyed look.

"You won't believe what is happening in my apartment right now!" Penny groaned, walking past Leonard, and returning to her seat from before.

"Howard's getting it on with Chrissy?" Leonard laughed.

"No. Wait, yes. How did you know that?" Penny asked, intrigued.

"Howard texted me, he was looking for you, and I didn't reply, so I assume he just knocked on your door, and meet Chrissy."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Penny asked, now laughing at the whole situation.

"I only checked my phone after you left."

"Oh, okay then. Are you up for another episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians?" Penny asked, immediately seeing the annoyance radiating off Leonard's face.

"Sure" he agreed, just to please Penny.

* * *

The two sat in Leonard's apartment for the rest of the afternoon, and into the night.

"So it's Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall… right?" Leonard asked, after the sixth episode.

"And Kris is their mom, and they have a younger brother named Rob. Kourtney, Kim and Khloe are to Kris' first marriage, and Kylie and Kendall are to her second. Got it?"

"Sort of" Leonard replied, as Penny clicked on the next episode.

5 minutes in, Sheldon walked through the door, and the first thing was for Sheldon to kick Penny out of his spot.

The three of them had dinner together, as Penny realised Howard was still in her apartment. The thought of what they could be doing, would haunt Penny forever. She would probably have to move, or just burn the entire contents of her apartment.

"Is there anyway I can stay here tonight?" Penny pleaded. "I will have to burn my sheets tomorrow, and I don't plan to see what has happened in my apartment this afternoon."

"Okay, Leonard will make up the couch for you, and I will go to bed. Goodnight" Sheldon ordered, and went to his bedroom.

Leonard handed Penny a pillow, and a blanket, as she set herself up on their lounge.

"Thanks Leonard, and thanks for letting me stay this afternoon. I had a good time."

"Goodnight Penny."

Leonard walked into his bedroom, and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

 _Leonard placed small kisses on Penny's body as she slowly awoke in his arms. He rubbed his hands over Penny's beautiful pregnant belly, and everyday it amazed him that a women as beautiful as Penny agreed to marry him, and was carrying his baby. Everyday was a blessing for Leonard, to spend time with the most amazing person in the universe, and the endless love he shared for her._

 _"Good morning honey" Penny mumbled, as Leonard placed a passionate kiss on her lips, reciprocating her good morning wish._

 _"Good morning beautiful." Leonard replied._

 _"I love you."_

* * *

"Leonard, Leonard..." Penny whispered, shaking Leonard awake.

"Wait, what?" He replied, slowly coming to his senses, after what he considered an amazing dream.

"I can't sleep, because I can hear Howard and Chrissy from the lounge room. Can I sleep in here?" Penny asked, adding special emphasis to the fact that they were still together. Probably in her bed, doing god knows what.

"Yeah of course, I'll sleep on the couch." Leonard said, pulling the sheets off his body, and realising that he was still _excited_ from his earlier dream. He immediately pulled the sheets back over his body, hoping that Penny didn't notice, but as he looked up at her, and saw the redness in her cheeks, he realised that she did.

"No, no. It's okay, you can stay here. You have a double bed, we can share." Penny smiled, walking to the other side of the bed, holding back a small chuckle.

"Okay." Leonard said, getting back into his bed, as Penny did the same.

"Goodnight Penny."

"Goodnight Leonard."

* * *

 **A/N Wrote this whilst watching Season 5, which is one of my favorite seasons. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please, please, please review this story. I love feedback, it what fuels my passion for writing, and it means a lot to me when you tell me what you thought. Thanks guys – R &R xx**


	4. Chapter 4

Leonard lay awake in his bed, eyes glued to the ceiling, as he try to compensate what he was feeling, with Penny laying in his bed, next to him. He heard her tiny snores, that instantly brought a smile to her face. He rolled over to see the time, 6:30am. He had to be at work in an hour, and really didn't even want to get out of bed. He quietly removed the dooner from his body, trying not to wake Penny. He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table, wrapped a robe around his body and headed out to the kitchen. He boiled the jug, made himself a cup of coffee, and sat and watched the remaining 30 minutes of the Doctor Who rerun.

'Where is Sheldon?' Leonard thought to himself, as he realised his annoying roommate wasn't in his room, nor the apartment.

"Leonard?" He heard Penny call from the hallway.

"Yes?" Leonard replied as Penny entered their living room, still half asleep.

"What time is it?" Penny asked, rubbing her eyes. She obviously wasn't an early riser.

"Twenty to seven."

"Why the hell are we awake?" Penny demanded, realising that this was the earliest she had ever woken up voluntarily.

"Well I don't know about you, but I start work in about 40 minutes. You can go back to sleep if you want to? Or the jugs boiled if you want a coffee. I'll make it for you and you can watch Doctor Who with me, to compensate those 8 hours I spent watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians yesterday." He laughed, standing up and grabbing a new mug.

"Okay, but why are you going to work on a Sunday? What do you even do?" Penny asked, as she made her way over to the couch.

"One, Sheldon and I are working on a new theory about the ability for Laser to be used to knock out incoming missiles. I got a huge grant for it."

"Can they?" Penny interrupted.

"God no." Leonard simply replied triggering a smile to raise on Penny's disheveled face. "I'm a experimental physicist, and Sheldon's a theoretical physicist. He thinks about things, and then I test them to see if they work or not."

"Wow, that sounds really hard."

"Sometimes."

"So what are we watching?" Penny asked, completely unsure of what was on the television in front of her.

"Doctor Who. You've never seen it before?" Leonard asked, surprised, although he then realised that people like Penny didn't spend their time watching television shows, well other than reality TV shows, like the one he was forced to endure yesterday.

"Doctor Who?"

"Yeah Doctor Who."

"So is the doctors name Who?"

"Yes" Leonard laughed, smiling at how beautiful she looked even when she didn't try.

"Okay, oh whats that big blue telephone box?"

"That, that is the Tardis." Leonard said, proudly.

"The hell is a Tardis."

"Tardis stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" Leonard smiled. "It's a time machine."

"Like the one from Hot Tub Time Machine?" Penny blurted out, with a smile on her face. Leonard couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

"No" Leonard laughed. "Never mind."

The two sat in silence, Leonard enjoying one of his favorite TV shows, whilst Penny sat there, still confused.

As the credits filled the screen, Leonard leaned forward and grabbed Penny's empty coffee cup, and his own.

"I'm sorry about bombarding your apartment yesterday, I just didn't have the physical strength to remove Chrissy and Howard from my apartment. I should probably go over and see how much of my furniture they defiled." Penny said, "they better not of touched my care bears!" Penny said, heartbroken.

As Penny went to open Leonard's door, Howard burst through the door. "Ola Nerdmigo." He exclaimed, as he walked in, wrapped in Penny's robe.

"Is.. is that my robe?"Penny asked, immediately disgusted.

"Oh yeah, I'll wash it and give it back."

"No, no thats okay. Just burn it."

"Okay, well we will have to talk about your loofa and Care bears."

"You didn't!" Penny exclaimed, as Howard walked back over to her apartment.

Penny's face went red, "do you know how expensive they are to get specially cleaned! I'm gonna kill him!" Penny yelled, as tears filled her eyes. "Leonard!" Penny cried, as she ran into his eyes, and hugged his stiff body. He brought his hands up her back, and tried to be as comforting as he could.

"It's okay, i'll steal his belt buckle collection, and you can have sex on those." Leonard laughed, trying to offer up a alternative offer.

"Wouldn't that be painful?" She asked.

"Probably, never mind. Scratch that."

Penny laughed as Leonard tried to find a solution, as she let go of his body and sat back on the couch.

"I have to go to work."

"Oh okay. Do you mind if I stay here until I can front Howard and knock out his front teeth?"

"Yeah, sure. Only one rule, don't sit in Sheldon's spot, don't go into Sheldon's room, don't touch Sheldon's stuff and don't use Sheldon's toothbrush, otherwise Sheldon will, and I quote "jump out the window…" Fyi, it's the orange one under the UV light."

"Sounds good, have a good day at work." Penny smiled.

Leonard walked out into the hallway, and walked straight across to her apartment.

"Howard, you really need to move this strange ass love fest elsewhere." Leonard tried to yell quietly so Penny didn't hear.

Howard opened the door, still wrapped in Penny's robe. "Please Leonard, some privacy."

"Look, this is the last day this is going to happen, but let me in so I can get Penny's care bears."

"I wouldn't touch those.." Howard laughed, as Leonard barged past him.

He pulled out a black plastic bag from his shoulder bag, and a glove and started picking up the teddy bears.

"Why are you doing this?" Howard asked, "it's not going to increase your chances of her liking you."

"Well I wouldn't have to do this if you didn't bang one of her friends on them. Where is Chrissy anyways?" Leonard asked.

"She's in the shower, I was going to join her, but we were starting to chaff."

"That's way to much information. See you later Howard, and clean Penny's apartment before you leave okay."

Leonard walked out, with the bag thrown over his shoulder, hoping that Penny didn't walk out as he was in the hallway. He jogged down the stairs, and threw the bag into the back of his car. Leonard drove across town, to a small speciality cleaners where he dropped of the bears and paid the man to clean them for Penny.

He went back to Caltech, and endured the rest of the day, with a harping Sheldon because he was 13 minutes late.

* * *

 **A/N Sorry for not updating, I've worked the last 6 days in a row, so I can only update when I get a chance. Let me know if you have any ideas on where this fan fiction should go, and what you'd like to see happen between Leonard and Penny. Hope you are enjoying so far. R &R xx**


	5. Chapter 5

Leonard spent, what felt like days in his office, with his eyes glued to the laptop screen. That screen that was filled with thousands of words he had typed, about this idea. This one idea that he didn't even know was possible, or that would work. He had tried different simulations on the machine, but none of them worked. Sheldon assured him that he just had to find the right balance, that this one idea would be something that could possibly earn a Nobel prize in his future. And for Sheldon, more importantly, could possibly earn them a joint Nobel prize for their work. Leonard hadn't seen Penny in almost a week and a half, and he had to be honest with himself; he missed her. He didn't know why… it's not like she missed him... He just worried about her. Would Clifford come back? Had Chrissy left her by now? Had Wolowitz left, or did he stay and risk being dragged out in a body bag. And more importantly, when she decided to go back to work, would Clifford follow her there. He kinda wished that he could be with her 24/7, but that wouldn't be good for either of their relationships.

Leonard continued to type away at his laptop, as the document clicked over ten thousand words. His eyes were sore, bloodshot even. The time was just ten minutes passed 9pm, and with that… he was done. When he finally had the chance to check his mobile, he had a missed phone call, and three texts from Leslie Winkle. She hadn't contacted him since they worked together on that project a few years ago, much to Sheldon's disgust. He wondered if she needed his _help_ again.

'Leonard, hi. Would you be interested in joining the Physics team string quartet? We need a cellist Elliot Wong switched over to high energy radiation research, had a little mishap, and now the other guys are uncomfortable sitting next to him. If yes, we will all be at your house tonight. Our regular space was declared a hot zone...' Leonard read those words and Leonard texted her back. 'Sounds good, see you all then. Sheldon has a function at the train store.'

Hmm.

* * *

After Leonard returned from the lab, finally, he struggled to make it up the stairs. Fifteen hours, no stop, at his lab was certainly draining, and all he could hope was that no one would bother him for the next 12 hours, as he regained a bit of life in himself. It was just past midnight, and Leslie would be arriving at their house that night. As Leonard collapsed on his bed, sleep was inevitable.

" _Thanks for coming over, I had a great time!" Leonard said, as he made it to the door, with a beautiful girl in front of him._

" _You certainly are a magnificent beast, Leonard Hofstadter." She said, placing a very delicate, but passionate kiss on his lips._

 _The girl left his apartment, and made her way home... all the way across the hall._

" _I love you, Penny."_

" _I love you too, Leonard"_

* * *

Sheldon burst out of his apartment, and rushed over to the adjoining apartment, 4B. His knocking scheme was the same as always.

"Oh, hey Sheldon, what's going on?" Penny asked, appearing from the door, with a smile on her face.

"Penny, I need your opinion on a matter of semiotics." Sheldon explained.

"I'm sorry?" Penny asked, constantly annoyed when Sheldon would use big words around her, that she didn't understand.

"Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols – it's a branch of philosophy related to linguistics." Sheldon explained, hoping that would be enough for Penny to understand. He didn't know how people functioned with such limited knowledge.

"Okay, sweetie. I know you think you're explaining yourself, but you're really not."

Sheldon sighed. "Just come with me."

Sheldon grabbed Penny's arm, and pulled her across the hallway, and up their hall to Leonard bedroom. "Well?" Sheldon asked, arriving at the door of Leonard's bedroom.

"Well what." Penny asked, noticing the tie on the door, and feeling strange. She didn't know how she felt. It wasn't betrayal, because they weren't together. It wasn't happiness, because she wasn't happy about it. To be honest, it kind of hurt.

"Well what does it mean?" Sheldon asked, still completely oblivious to the entire situation.

"Oh come on, you went to collage." Penny defended.

"Yes, but I was eleven."

"Alright look, a tie on the doorknob usually means someone doesn't want to be disturbed because they're, you know, getting busy."

 _'Getting busy?_ No, Leonard's not allowed to get busy with anyone other than her.' The fact that those thoughts were in Penny's head, actually scared her. And she didn't know why.

"So you're saying Leonard has a girl in there?" Sheldon asked, surprised at what he was hearing. Leonard didn't have girls over, other than those two times he was able to co-ordinate being _away_.

"Well either that or he's lost his tie rack and gotten _really_ into Bryan Adams."

'Bryan Adams… ew!' Penny thought to herself.

Penny zoned out from whatever Sheldon was mumbling on about, and was shocked by the words that came from behind Leonard's door. "Oh Leonard, you magnificent beast"

Penny immediately disgusted and awkward about the whole situation jumped back from the door, "we really shouldn't be standing here…"

Penny grabbed Sheldon by the arm, dragging him back towards the lounge room. "This is very awkward." Sheldon announced, sitting down in his spot.

"Oh come on, you know, Leonard's had girls over before… right?"

"Oh, yes, but there's usually planning, courtship and advance notice." Sheldon said, going off on a tangent. "Last time I was able to book a cruise to the Arctic to see a solar eclipse."

"Wait, you had to leave the state because your roommate was having sex?" Penny tried to stop herself from laughing, but a small giggle escaped from her lips.

"Oh no, I didn't have too, the dates just happened to coincide." Sheldon argued, still unsure of how to act in a situation such as this.

"So…" Penny asked, trying to act as casual as possible. "Do you know who's in there?"

"Well, there's Leonard" Sheldon stated, bluntly. "And he's either with Lesley Winkle or a 1930's gangster."

Lesley. Okay, she had met her once, at the Cheesecake factory. She was a scientist, a female one. How could Penny compete with that. Wait, why did she need to compete, it's not like Leonard liked her back. And more to the point, it's not like she liked him either, well anymore than a friend. A friend… yes, that's exactly what Leonard was. Penny's friend… "Hmm. Good for him. Good for Leonard." Penny muttered to herself. "Okay, night!"

"No, no, wait, hold on." Sheldon objected.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know what the protocol is here. Do I stay, do I leave? Do I wait to greet them with a refreshing beverage?"

"Gee Sheldon, you're asking the wrong girl. I'm usually on the other side of the tie…" Penny laughed, walking across to her apartment.

As Penny left, Sheldon sat in his spot. Thinking. He burst to his feet and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Hi, Leonard. It's me, Sheldon. In the living room. I just, I wanted you to know I saw the tie. Message received. You're welcome. You carry on. Give my best to Lesley."

* * *

The following morning, Sheldon stood for hours staring at his board, that was now fixed, thanks to Leonard's _booty call_. Not that he was happy, but it still fixed the problem that he was having.

Leonard exited their apartment, and was greeted by Penny in the hallway.

"Oh hey, Leonard" Penny grinned, swaying with her clothes basket leaning against her hip.

"Oh hi." Leonard replied, immediately bringing a smile to his face when his eyes met hers.

"So, hows it gooinnngg?" Penny hinted.

"Pretty goooood" Leonard replied, imitating Penny's voice action.

"Just pretty good? I'd think that you'd be very good."

"Pretty, very. There's really no objective scale for delineating variations of good. Why do you ask?"

"Well a little birdy told me you and Lesley hooked up last night. Is anything going to happen between you?" Penny tried to sound like she was happy at the fact that Leonard may no longer be single.

"Lesley? No, no-oh, what are you kidding?" Leonard replied, as Sheldon joined them in the hallway.

"He asked her out once, it was an embarrassing failure" Sheldon added, sending Leonard's face red in embarrassment.

"Oh, that's too bad, you guys would make a cute couple. I am so happy for you, Leonard." Penny said, turning to make her way down the four flights of stairs to the laundry room.

"What did Penny mean, you'd make a cute couple?"

'What did Penny mean.' Leonard thought to himself. This was about the time he started to overthink everything, and ruin everything. Normally in the same day.

"Well I assume she meant that the two of you together would constitute a couple that others might consider cute. An alternate, and somewhat less likely interpretation, is that you could manufacture one. As in, oh look, Leonard and Lesley made Mr and Mrs Goldfarb, aren't they adorable."

"If Penny didn't know that Lesley had already turned me down then that would unambiguously mean that she, Penny, thought that I should her, Lesley, out, indicating that she, Penny, had no interest in me asking her, Penny, out. But because she did know that I had asked Lesley out and that she, Lesley, had turned me down then she, Penny, could be offering consolation. That's too bad, you would have made a cute couple. But while thinking, good, Leonard remains available."

"Well what did Penny mean, with I am happy for you?"

"Is she happy because I'm seeing someone, or is she happy because she thinks that I'm happy, because anyone who cared for someone would want them to be happy, even if the reason for their happiness made the first person unhappy. You know, because the second person, though happy, is now romantically unavailable to the first person."

"You're a lucky man, Leonard."

"How so?" Leonard thought how he could possibly be lucky. He ended up sleeping with someone he didn't care about, but then also, possibly hurt the girl he truly cared about. Why couldn't things never go his way.

"You're talking to one of the three men in the Western hemisphere capable of following that train of thought." Sheldon stated, as the two began walking down the stairs.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I said I could follow it, I didn't say I cared."

"You're a pain in the ass, Sheldon." Leonard exclaimed, at his _wacky_ roommate.

"Wow, your wound awfully tight for a man who just had sexual intercourse."

 **A/N - So I'm currently sitting in the library trying to put off doing a historical investigation on The Black Death for Ancient History, eh. I really like using episodes, and mixing the dialogue to suit my situations. In this, The Hamburger Postulate, I swapped some dialgoue, added some, and changed where and when it was said; and I think it turned out well. Lemme know what you think, or what episode I should do next. I hope it all leads to 4x01, where Leonard finally catches a break, but with a lot happier ending then the one shown on TV; alot happier. I will write smut scenes, i mean if my readers want that ;)**

 **Thanks guys! R &R xx**


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